DAC global relations

Costa Rica's Development Co-operation

Costa Rica’s total concessional finance for development reached USD 10 million in 2015, compared to USD 24 million in 2014 (OECD estimates based on Government of Costa Rica, 2014, 2015; and websites of multilateral organisations). In 2014, Costa Rica channelled USD 10 million through multilateral organisations.[i]

The Directorate General for International Co-operation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs manages Costa Rica’s incoming and outgoing development co-operation. Fundecooperación para el Desarrollo Sostenible is a non-governmental organisation that is in charge of monitoring and administering the Programme of South-South Cooperation on Sustainable Development with Benin, Bhutan and Costa Rica as well as some triangular co-operation projects. It also acts as a platform for alliances among the government, civil society, academia and private stakeholders.

Costa Rica mainly provides development co-operation in the form of technical co-operation through bilateral and regional initiatives. Spain has a triangular co-operation fund to support Costa Rica in its triangular co-operation projects with other Central American and Caribbean countries (e.g. El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras) in areas such as social cohesion, competitiveness and production, and participative democracy. Costa Rica also participates in projects of the German regional fund for the promotion of triangular co-operation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In 2015, Costa Rica’s multilateral development co-operation was primarily channelled through the International Development Association (30%) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (25%).

[i] The difference between the estimations for 2014 and 2015 is due to an adjustment in the OECD’s estimations of Costa Rica’s contributions to multilateral organisations. Estimations for 2015 are based on additional information received from the Treasury of the government of Costa Rica